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Spinoza – Ethics One

Spinoza – Ethics One. Charles Manekin. Topics of Discussion. Brief Comments About Spinoza’s Bio The Geometric Method Substance, Attribute, Mode God or Nature The “Properties” of God. Spinoza’s Life.

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Spinoza – Ethics One

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  1. Spinoza – Ethics One Charles Manekin Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  2. Topics of Discussion • Brief Comments About Spinoza’s Bio • The Geometric Method • Substance, Attribute, Mode • God or Nature • The “Properties” of God Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  3. Spinoza’s Life • Born 1632 in Amsterdam; father imported dried fruits and nuts; member in good standing of Jewish community. • Studied with Menasshe ben Israel, Isaac Aboab, Saul Levi Morteira • Went into business with his brother. • Began to study Latin and secular subjects. • Put in Cherem on July 27, 1656, probably for theological doctrines and doubts about the divinity of Scriptures. Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  4. Spinoza’s Life • In late 1650’s, work on the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect and the Short Treatise on God, Man, and Well-Being • 1663, Principles of Descarte’s philosophy • Writes in 1670, the Theological Political Treatise • 1675 – decides first to publish, then not to publish, the Ethics • Dies in 1677 Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  5. The Geometric Method • Geometrical method may have been adopted primarily with the Cartesians involved. • He starts out with definitions and axioms that in are in themselves familiar to the Cartesians. • And proceeds in a geometric fashion, as if to say, “You must accept my conclusions, since they follow from your definitions and premises.” • Also, this was his pedagogic tool. Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  6. Substance • “By substance I understand what is in itself, and is conceived through itself, i.e., that whose concept does not require the concept of another thing, from which it is formed.” • Contrast this with five classic definitions of substance: • The concrete particular: this table, this man, this thing. • The essence of something: what is the substance of your remarks. • The center of change. What remains of something when its properties change. • The bearer of properties; what underlies the various properties. • That which possesses independent existence. Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  7. Mode • By mode I mean the affections of substance; that is, that which is in something else and conceived through something else. • What is the distinction between substance and mode? • Substance is ontologically independent of anything else; it is dependent on nothing else for its existence. Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  8. Mode • Furthermore, in order to conceive substance, it is not necessary to refer to anything else. • This is what Spinoza means when he says that substance is conceived through itself. • A mode, however, is ontologically and epistemologically dependant upon substance; it exists as a modification of substance, and is understood through reference to substance. Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  9. Attribute • By attribute I mean that which (the) intellect perceives of substance as constituting its essence. • What is the relationship of substance and attribute? • Substance is rendered intelligible through attribute; otherwise we would know no more about substance than what follows from its definition; we would not know its nature. • Two examples are given • By 'Israel' I understand the third Patriarch; by Jacob I understand the same. But I also understand why the name was given -- because he seized the brother's heel. • By flat I mean what reflects all rays of light without any change; I understand the same by white, except that it is called white in relation to a man looking at a flat surface Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  10. Substance Monism • Were there more than one substance, they could not have a shared attribute. • Hence, no causal interaction • Were there more than one substance there would have to be a cause of that particular number. • Explanatory rationalism. Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  11. Substance exists of necessity • It pertains to the nature of substance is self-caused. • Substance is indivisible. • No parts of substance • God, a substance absolutely infinite, of which one expressing an eteranal and infinite essence, exists of necessity. Modern Philosophy PHIL320

  12. Nothing can be conceived without God • God as efficient cause of everything. • God’s actions are both free and necessary. • Determinism (P33) – Things could have been produced by God in no other order than they have been produce. Modern Philosophy PHIL320

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